First Listen: watch We Are Serenades live in Stockholm

A few months back, we spoke with Swedish dream pop duo, Serenades, about their formation, debut album, and plans to tour the US. Adam Olenius is known to many of us for his work in Shout Out Louds, while Markus Krunegård fronts the band Laakso. Once rivals, the two finally pooled their resources after years of intermittent drunk texting. The results were pretty sweet — their single, “Oceans,” was a refreshing summertime pop song, and the title track off their EP, “Come Home,” was a great new addition to indie rock Christmas mixes.

Having augmented their name to We Are Serenades for legal reasons, the band will be releasing their debut album “Criminal Heaven” on April 17th. To get an idea of what their live show will be like at their upcoming SXSW performance, as well as their forthcoming US tour, check out this exclusive video of the band performing in Stockholm, Sweden. Augmented by a full band, including a string section and background singers, the group really pulls off the celebratory hymnal sound they spoke of in our interview with them.